1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable, powered cleaning unit for cleaning a mountain bike at a remote location, comprising a housing unit housing a fluid chamber, a cleaning fluid chamber, a pump, an air compressor and an energy supply or storage means, wherein the energy supply means can selectively operate the pump to pump the fluid from the fluid chamber or pump a combination of fluid combined with cleaning fluid from the cleaning fluid chamber or can supply energy to the air compressor to inflate tires or provide a flow of compressed air for cleaning.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When we look at the past decade, we see that people have been busier than ever. They are busier in almost every facet of their lives; they are hard at work and are hard at play. The well-defined work week has led to a well defined recreation time, and people are taking advantage now of their limited time off to engage in recreational activities more now than at any point in the last decade.
Among recreational activities gaining in popularity, biking, camping, and traveling top the list of a host of other activities which are all done outside the home. The vastly growing sales of products related to these activities evidence the increased participation in these diversions. Perhaps the largest growth industry in the last decade among recreational activities and in their related sports equipment sales has been the introduction and explosion in popularity of the mountain bike. Its rapid growth has taken the mountain bike from relative obscurity to commonplace to nearly causing the extinction of the 10-speed bicycle.
Unfortunately for mountain bicycling enthusiasts living in urban areas, the best areas for biking are often located far from their residences. So the enthusiast is left to transport his bicycle on top of a rack on his car or in the back of his wagon or sport utility vehicle to a location where the buildings and sidewalks are replaced by trees and hills. After a day of hard mountain biking down single-tracks and through the mud, the mud-packed mountain bike has to be thrown back into the car or mounted on to the bike rack throwing dirt and mud all over the car and the cyclist. Once back at home the cyclist can finally clean the mud and dirt off the bicycle which has dried and hardened during the trip home. The time consuming effort is compounded by the added effort of having to clean the car inside and out after cleaning the bicycle, reducing the amount of time spent enjoying bicycling and increasing the effort involved.
For those cyclists living in apartment buildings or areas where water spigots are not readily available, the burden of the task is greatly enhanced as he is forced to carry buckets of water down the elevator or stairs and out into the parking lot to clean the bicycle. And as everyone who has cleaned a vehicle outside using the bucket method can remember, the actually cleaning power of the water in the bucket decreases with each dip of the sponge as more and more mud is deposited back into the bucket from the sponge or cleaning rag and is mixed with the cleaning water. As the process continues, mud and dirt are actually put back on the bike from the muddied clean water bucket unless the user diligently carries out fresh buckets of water.
The present invention is drawn to a novel method of providing a unit for cleaning a bicycle at a location remote from spigots or free sources of water. The portable cleaning unit has a water storage area and a cleaning solution storage area which can be combined and sprayed directly on to a mountain bike to clean the bike before securing the bike on or within a car or truck. A pressurizing water pump is run by an electrical source preferably a dc current provided by the cigarette lighter of a vehicle. The pump draws water and selectively cleaning fluid together and sprays the fluid onto the bicycle using a hose or wand attached to the pump. Selective controls on the unit can also be used to power an air compressor for use in filling bicycle tires in conjunction with a provided air filler hose or can power a motor for a vacuum unit. A built in pressure gauge can be used to gauge the pressure of the air filling the tires to prevent a blowout. A panel on an end of the unit allows access to the chamber enclosing the working parts of the device including the pump, air compressor and vacuum motor. An optional neoprene casing can be fitted over the whole unit and may include pockets to hose tools or parts for the unit.
By bringing the portable cleaning device to the remote riding location, the user is able to clean the bike before loading the bike on or into the car. In addition, on particularly muddy days, the rider can clean the bike between legs of the ride so that the bike is not slowed by the immense amounts of mud caked on the bicycle.
The concept of a pump attached to a container is not new.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,359,534 to Slatnick shows a foot-operated pump attached to a water container for extinguishing fires and incendiary bombs.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,772,922 to Boyd et al. shows a pressurizable container for a liquid. A pump attached to an air inlet forces air into the container to pressurize the liquid so that the liquid may be expelled under the force of the air provided by the air pump.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,958,155 to Emmerich shows a gasoline engine powered blower attached to a container of insecticide for spraying the insecticide which can either be in liquid or powder form.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,993,245 to Smith shows a hand pump for pressurizing a tank to force a pesticide in the tank through a spray valve onto a desired area.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,669 to Bridges et al. shows a wheeled, pressurized tank which is attached to a motorized compressor for pressurizing the tank. A valved hose attached to the hose selectively sprays fluid from the tank onto a predetermined area.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,222,521 shows a pressure tank for cleaning objects. Air forced into the tank by a pump forces the fluid out when a valve on a spray gun is released. Cleaning fluid may be optionally added directly to the fluid in the tank.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,787,560 to DeYoreo shows a portable, manually pressurizable liquid sprayer having a wand for directing the spray.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,975 to Fuhrig shows a battery operated spray can for spraying liquids. A compressor operated by the battery pumps air into the liquid chamber to pressurize the container and the liquid therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,526,957 to Brown et al. shows a chemical dispensing unit which is operated by pressurizing flexible containers surrounding the chemical reservoirs to force the chemicals out through a valved nozzle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,220 to Credle, Jr. et al. shows a backpack-mounted beverage dispenser having an insulating pack surrounding a number of two litre bottles filled with premixed liquids. A CO.sub.2 cylinder provides pressurization to force the fluids out through a dispensing nozzle.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.